The Chronicles of Mark Pietan

12.02.05 - Here's alittle story for you guys. Last night, Sunday, I was cruising around La Paz on foot and started up a conversation with a guy from the U.S. who had just gotten out of The San Pedro prison. San Pedro prison is where all the drug lords or offenders go to serve time. The thing that is strange about San Pedro is that the more money you have while serving time in San Pedro, the better your sentence term will be. Thus, criminals with a lot of cashflow pay for these fucked up exspensive, extravagant apartments to live in for a couple of years, while shitheads with no cashflow share a room with 5 to 6 other shitheads, while they all share the same messy toilet. Also, within the jail, there are stores, shops and the inmates roam around freely...................Definately not your ordinary prison...........So, I met this guy, last night, who offered me a tour...............He ended up giving me a tour of San Pedro for 50 Bolivianos.......( 8 Bolivianos to the U.S. Dollar). About 6 dollars........................We took the tour..................Then we left The San Pedro prison, all was cool. We got in a cab/taxi and ended up driving around for 45 mins...........visting all of his former cellmates, drug dealers, and cocaine users. At this point in the night shit was so fucking damn sketchy that I couldn't decide what to really say or do. It's the "YOU FUCKING DUMBASS; MARK!!!!!!! HOW DID YOU WALK INTO THIS TYPE OF SHIT?????" situation. So, the story gets even better, or worse................depends on what you like. I find myself sitting in the fucking cab again, waiting for this fucking quasi tour guide/ex-Con, and I have Bolivian prostitutes, and drug dealers pounding on the backdoor window of the cab....yelling through the window: "Gringo" etc.... The cab driver finally tells me that I have to walk because the fucker from San Pedro never shows back up and the cabbie is tired of waiting for him and I didn't have any money on me to really pay him for driving around for 45 mins. So, I reluctantly get out of the taxi, only to get surrounding by the same people that wanted my ass, my cash, my stash, or just to sell me drugs. I began to fucking sprint and I got fucking shot at, seriously....................A bullet was aimed at me and the trigger was pulled from some fuckers' gun..............I ran my ass off at this point..................and got into the next passing taxi telling him that we needed to get the fuck out of the area, but also explained that if he took me to an A.T.M., I could pay him right away..........................True story, last night. Sunday Night. Not Bullshitting. Pietan.

07.01.05 - What's up?, A lot of you I haven't heared from and you haven't heard from me. And, so it goes. Well, I am leaving Cusco, Peru this Saturday, July 2nd. I am heading to work for this other school and I'll be living and teaching on Isla del Sol, which is the largest island in the middle of Lake Titicaca, on the Bolivian side of the lake. Bolivia's politial situation is semi-up in shits, as we speak, so it shall be interesting. So, I will be saying goodbye to Cusco after 8 months of living and learning, experiencing and teaching. The Isla del Sol gig (Island of the Sun) is for four months, so it may be even harder for me to get around a computer and check e-mails/ and respond, but atleast you know why. The island has 3, 000 permanent residents and it has three main villages, remote, removed, and interesting. True immersion in an ancient and alive culture. Today, I am heading to Ollantaytambo, a small town in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, about two hours from Cusco. There is a righteous festival going on there today that is a celebration of traditional Incan history and custom. Love sent to all of you, talk to you from the Island of the Sun, Isla del Sol, on the Bolivian Lago Titicaca. It shall be frigid cold and the altitude will be a challenge. Much Love to you and Peace, Pietan.

01.19.05 - So . . . . . . . . . . This is a little outdated, I apologise for not writing about this, the day after it happened............... inorder to keep the narration fresh and the dispatches as real to the memory as utterly possible. Well, oh well. This was two weekends ago, on January 8th and 9th. A good buddy of mine that I met in Santiago, Chile was visiting me for an extended weekend, here in Cusco, Peru. We had everything mapped out and ready to go to visit the ancient Incan citadel: Machu Picchu. We awoke early on Saturday the 8th at around five in the morning. Caught a bus from Cusco to Urubamba, and then meandered next to the Urubamba river through the Sacred Valley of the Incas on our way to a small town, more like a village, called Ollantaytambo. Arrived here at 8:30 in the morning with enough time to hop on the train that goes to Aguas Calientes/Machu Picchu. My friend Jeff and I, were waiting in this line full of foreigners spouting out all sorts of dissapointments in German. The line trickles as we move forward. Finally, it is our turn and through a bunce of bullshit, we find out that the "backpacker" price for the train to Machu Picchu doesn't exist for some reason on this specific day, and the only way to get on the money sucking, pocket fucking train is to ride first class and ultimately throw 70.00 U.S.D dollars at the train attendant. "Ahhhhhhhhhh, excuse me! What the fuck did you just rape my ears with?" And so one and so forth. No ATM in town. Not enough money in the pocket, Jeff and I reacess the situation, swallow are pride, and say "fuck it, we'll find our own way to make the magic happen". The town of Ollantaytambo is anyone's best bet if they really truely want to get out of the postcard infested and gringo congested world of Cusco and the worldly pilgrimage that is on every tourists mind that enters Peru: Machu Picchu. It hasn't changed in close to 500 hundred years. It is as close as one can get to really experiencing what a true Incan town looked like, its floor plans, how it operates. Amazing..........I shit you not, I urge everyone of you that ever makes it this far and/ or close to Ollantaytambo, check it out, absorb it, soak it up. Get away from the crowds and spend time with Quechuan speaking natives, who barely know any spanish. You will leave this corner of Peru with the best understanding of the Incan empire and what it probably looked like, without feeling like you are on some Epcot fucking ride in Walt Disney World. Anyways, I seriously can go on and on, but the ruins here in Ollantaytambo are amazingly impressive. And, it cost a fraction to get to and to experience, compared to Machu Picchu. Sooooooooooooooo...........Jeff and I spent hours exploring the ruins and we ended up hiking to the top of this mighty Andean vista. Unbelievable views of the Sacred Valley and the town of Ollantaytambo. Later, we meandered through and explored the narrow cobble stone streets, which had exsposed, fresh water gutters running throughout the small town, which was supplied by the river itself. That night, to top off this amazing, magical place, there was a annual festival and the whole town, all 500 of them, exploded into indigenous dances, beautiful, colorful attire, chicha (local alcohol made from Maize), and great street food. Everyone was so warm and welcoming. This was topped off, many hours later, with a fireworks display that was built upon a make-shift bamboo structure................the lights swirled with the dancers and the Cusque๑a cerveza was hitting strong and hard.....................A beautiful place that is very, very high on my list for everyone/anyone that matters a shit to eventually visit sometime in their life. Jeff and I stumbled upon it, literally, and I wouldn't changed this experience for the world. Hands down, spend sometime in Ollantaytambo........................Also, check out the Amazingly impressive Pisac ruins, which are in the opposite direction from Ollantaytambo, down the Sacred Valley, closer to Cusco. Peace, and if you honestly read all of this.......well thanks for giving me 5 minutes of your time. And, I sincerely and seriously hope that you can experience Ollantaytambo as well, sometime. Pietan.

01.02.05: So, one of the best experiences in my life happened yesterday. (New Year's Day 2005). My friend, Paul Sullivan, from Santiago Chile is here, in Cusco, Peru, studying spanish for a month. Anyways, I promised that I would take him on a long hike away from Cusco, to some Incan ruins. There are over 150 Incan ruins around the city center of Cusco, Peru. So, after a lonnnnnnnnnnnnng breakfast...........we started to ascend the mountains surrounding the city. I take Paul to a couple of ruins, and after seeing Laqo, the temple of the moon, we start to walk for hours on the ancient Inca road. Eventually, we are completely lost. And, we decide to ascend to the top of a ridge line to get our bearings. Once there, we notice a small village that is literally carved out of the mountain side. At this point we were 10 to 12 miles away from Cusco, and right next to the Sacred Valley of the Inca. We were at 13, 500 feet. So, we both decide to explore the village. As we are entering the mud built, adobe structures, and dirt roads, we are greeted by the local youth of the village. Immediately, they ask us if we want to play soccer. We decide that we can not pass up this oppurtunity. We have the most amazing time and we end up playing for hours. As the sun was setting, I noticed a heared a llamas passing the soccer field, and the most amazing scenory surrounded all of us. My team one, and I scored a goal.......................the locals were impressed by the gringo. So, after the game Paul and I walk around this small ass Peruvian mountain village. We are invited to have a beer with this beautiful family. Inside, we have to crouch because the ceiling isn't high enough, and the whole house is made of mud. We laugh and talk and play hop-scotch with the children in the courtyard. I cannot express the warmth and smiles that I felt. This was a moving experience with people that haven't changed for ages. They invited me in, and I embraced their invitation. Best of all, I was invited back. And now, every sunday afternoon, around 3:00, I am going to make that same hike to that village, to play soccer with these beautiful, off the tourist map, people. Hands down, one of the greatest and warmest experiences in my life. Pietan.

01.02.05: Well, New Years was a blast here.  I spent it above the main plaza, Plaza de Armas, in the center of historic Cusco, Peru.  I was over looking the plaza, on a balcony in the bar, Norton's Rats, when the ball dropped.  The amount of fireworks that were going off, and being shot into the mass crowd, were amazing.  Fucking bombs could have been going off in people's faces, and noone would have noticed.  So, the Plaza was packed and when twelve o'clock hit, the enormous gathering started to do laps around the plaza whilst, a bull was chasing them.  I was awestruck.  And, still huge amounts of fireworks were being launched from every direction imaginable. This went on for several hours.  However, this experience doesn't even compare to my New Year's Day  .........................................................Pietan.
12.21.04: So, yesterday found me well.  A nice, clear and beautiful Sunday In Cusco.  The plaza that is a stone's throw away from my apartment, Plaza San Blas, was holding its annual Indigenous christmas celebration.  Plaza San Blas is up the mountain side from the main plaza, Plaza de Armas.  It overlooks the city of Cusco.  Anyways, the traditional attire with their beautiful, vibrant colors and traditional dances were going on throughout the day.  They had amazing Peruvian musicians playing a whole assortment of indigenous instruments.  The Cusqueña cervezas were over flowing for those that held an empty cup.  Beautiful people with the most honest, festive spirit that I have witnessed.  You were insane if you did'nt join in with the dance, the drink, and the all around smiles.  So, this went on and I would return to my apartment to take a piss and then return to the blaring street festival.  I eventually needed to break a 50 soles for more beer and food.  I wandered from store to restaurant asking for change, like all of South America, supposedly noone had any.  Finally, at this hidden and small restaurant, still on the Plaza, I found someone that would cooperate, solely if I sat down and had a beer with the him, the owner.  This guy ends up having a huge bag of Coca leaves and is chewing the hell out of them, right there on the table.  I observe and respond, eventually, that "I have never tried chewing the leaves".  His face lights up and he proceeds to give me the ten proper steps on how one is supposed to go about doing this.  Leaf selection, the amount that you want/need, how long to chew them before spitting them out and grabbing another bundle, and this ash called Yapit, that you role up in the miidle off your wad and this causes the alkaline reaction for the cocaine to work and become absorbed faster in the blood stream.  This shit went on for hours............He would say "yeah, you probably need some new ones, spit those out".  He bought me beers and the night flowed on, and on.................the Festival outside was not even close to nearing it's end.  Quite the Holiday celebration.  I eventually left the coca leaf restaurant and returned to a full night's worth of dancing and an all around good time.  Happy Holidays to all of you from Mark Pietan.

12.13.04: This weekend, I left town and on my way back, at a point where the land was high and I could see all of Cusco, and to my left and down the road a long ways, the Andes, I suddenlly felt like I was "in".  The spot was in fact no different from when I had passed it not long before, but my way of seeing it had changed.  The feeling, a paradoxical mix of pulsing energy and profound peace, was intense and blissful.  Whereas before the road, the trees, the air, the earth, the sun all spoke differently to me, now they spoke One language of unity.  Tree took account of road, which was aware of air, which was mindful of earth, which shared things with the sun.  Every element lived in harmonious relation with its neighbour, and all was kith and kin.  I felt like a small circle coinciding with the centre of a much larger One.

11.22.04: Hey, things really landed in my lap here upon my arrival to Cusco.  I got hired to teach full time and the salary is very nice for Peruvian standards.  I also landed a really nice single apartment that is in one of the best locations in town.  Rent here is $150.00 U.S.D a month and my lease is month to month..  But, it is worth it.  Safe, great local and my own fuck'n place to do whatever in.  I live right next to a great plaza called Plaza San Blas.  There, Quechuan Indians are dressed in their beautiful traditional attire and sell some of the most amazing artifacts, clothing, and ceramics.  They have their llamas with them and this is literally right out side my front door.  Walking to work everyday, I pass by Inca ruins.  Also, the nightlife here is surprisingly great and consistant throughout the week.  Good restaurants, good bars, and hot latina chicas.  Cusco is just under 12, 000  feet.  With a population of 319, 500.  Alot of tourist come here though because of the Inca trail and Machu Picchu.  I have signed a three month contract with the school Maximo Nivel.  The school is new and just getting grounded.  But, it holds alot of promise in its future.  www.maximonivel.net.  Tomorrow I start my first day.  I have three classes tomorrow, but I will end up teaching five classes everyday.  Great place to spend the summer months in South America.  I tell you what, if you are planning to visit me here sometime, this is the place to have as your central base.  I might sign a longer contract with the school, depending on how things are going.  So, I might be here for a full year.  Simply put, Cusco is much more the Pietan scene than Santiago.  Santiago is great, but with 5 million strong and smog and pollution problems it just does'nt cut it.  Though, come March, work down there is consistant and well payed.  I hope all is well with the Geilhufe.  Mark Pietan.

11.18.04: What about:  "Relax, everything is fine" and "Everythings going to be Alright".  And, maybe: "Shhhhhhhhh, sleep tight" and "Do not worry, we do not know anything"  Hey, "Keep Placid.  Immerse yourself in work" and "Do not be concerned.  Stick to your daily routine".  It is not you.  It is everyone else around us.
BUT.................remember............."Imagine if there were no countries........nothing to kill or die for.........no religions as well"  "Imagine all the people sharing all the world"  Yeah........"you may say I am a "dreamer", but I am not the only one.  I hope some day you will join this mentality, and the world will hopefully live as one". (John Lennon)  I apologise again to everyone about our re-elected president.  Are we living for today?
Do you really buy this:  "You are safe with our blanket of security" perspective?  Anyways, Love lots Mark Pietan.  I am not pointing the finger. I am writing this to all of you who might agree.

11.17.04: O.K. sooooooooooooooo...................the town gives something more than what was expected during the sunlight hours, which is to expected from any place that has something to offer.  Anyhow, I leave the various places that I was in,  while the sun is setting, and the whole god damn area turns into a carnival.  Not the party down, "Mardi Gras" carnival, but a freak show on wheels.  Except, noone was wearing roller blades, or on skateboards or driving in their cars.  Abunce of animated robots and clowns, and guys selling talking puppets.  With children riding age-old 25 cent rides with grins on their faces.  And, the rides make these laughs that are somwhere in between a dying monkey and a dimented killer.  And, I walk down the street and get more beer and then the next time I stumble the situation in the streets has only gotten worse.  And, everything is bright and laughing even louder.  And, all the things that I forgot to notice before stand out like a sore thumb.  And, then I remember that I am in the resort town for all Bolivians, Southern Peruvians, and Northern Chileans.  It is'nt the high-rise shit in a Cancun or a Miami, but it is Arica, Chile.  And, it has soul.  I don't know what that soul might be, but it has something that throws me off, and leaves me with a dizzying mind-sore.

11.16.04: However and whomever stumbles upon this, hopefully we will be picking off from some point that we never began.  So, last off, there has been some catching up to do on my part.  And, the catch up begins alittle like this: I find myself on a grueling long bus ride where I am sitting next to a nursing thirty something with her two year old child.  On top of this it is, and I shit you not, a 26 hour bus ride.  It is a ride that leaves Santiago, Chile and heads north on the Pan-American highway.  My eyes were served half ass baby breasts from the mother while the baby was trying and trying again, to eat some god-knows-what.  I fell asleep and woke up and rubbed my eyes and shook my head and fell back to sleep.  All the while, I was receiving strange glances from the Mom, who asked me if I had some cigarettes and if I wanted to get a beer once we arrived at our destination.  However, this insanely lunar landscape was traveling past the bus and when it was light out, well it was The Atacama Desert, the driest place on THE EARTH.  Some kind of unfamiliar form that I had only seen from, maybe a N.A.S.A. photo.  Intensely surreal.  I have never been to Mars or the Moon, so I base that off of something that I picked up from some late night Sci-Fi show.  Anyways, one can not gain composure and comfort on a damn 26 hour bus ride with a crying baby in one's ear.  The bus ride was moving at some god unknown pace, for all I know, but it dropped me off at where I am right now in Arica, Chile.  This is the northern most town/city that is in Chile, close to the Peruvian border.  It is a desert with a coast..........a lot like Baja, Mexico.  But, a hell of a lot drier.  And, it offers consistant surf.  My travels do not end here, however.  They begin again first thing in the morning with another bus ride, this one for 18 hours.  It may sound like a lot of bitching, and well, it is.  But, that is the life at times during travel and if not to bitch then where and when would you be able to laugh at yourself later.  This trip tomorrow is taking me to Cusco, Peru where I will be centered for the summer months...........we will see..........down here in South America.  It is directly next to Machu Pichu....so the up dates will be crystal clear and consistant.  Maybe alittle drowned in intoxicants  Until then much love. Mark Pietan. 

10.17.04: A liitle bit of nothing as usual........always goes somewhere....................maybe.

This is some familiar and over wellmingly warm form that I hold here and now.  Embracing it, this reality here and now.  This one, this form I hold.  I am so wide eyed and hopefull.  So, wide eyed and hopefully wild. While, I barely remember who or what came before this precious moment, but I am choosing to be here, right now, and I am holding on to this body, this body holding me..................Which is reminding me that I am not alone in this body...........it makes me feel eternal and that pain is an allusion.  I'm staying inside this whole reality and this whole experience......and I am choosing to be in this body.  It reminds me that I am not alone. I am twirling around with this familiar parabol, and I am spinning and weaving around each new experience.  And, I recognise this as a whole gift and I will celebrate this chance to be alive and breathing.  This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality...............so, I embrace this moment and remember that we are eternal and that pain is an allusion.  Thanks for your time, Pietan.

10.11.04: Well, being quite the fan in the race to consume, the yucca juice and the scar on my back are an obvious predicament that I would find myself in. But, the chica is a seperate and long drawn out story that would bore us all. Her message "therapy" might seem to help the wound on my torso, but has only caused a headache. (So, is this dumb-ass music they are now playing in this internet cafe). Both, are enough to make one naseated and them stumble, ofcourse, back for more. The yucca came straight from the Ecuadorian amazon region, and was seriously fermented by the local spit of the native women. Strong as it was, it stills does not bring any true understanding for why I now have this massive scar on my back. But, the story I heard was that I made my way, somehow, towards the dock that is located on the lagoon off of the Napo River. There, passed out, I was heckled by some harmless locals that wanted to only help me. In my stupor, I saw the worst in the situation and thought, slowly coming to, about robbery. I apparently got up quickly and tried to protect myself from what was going on in my own head. Balance was off, and I slipped on the side off the dockside where a nail was portruding out of the wood. It ripped a gash in me which is about 7 inches long. Worse, after loosen my balance, I ended up fallen into the lagoon that has 10 to 15 feet black Caimons. It was night and those creatures are nocturnal. The smell of blood in their waters works like a shark and my luck worsened by the second. The locals, who were still standing toegher, slighty dumb founded, were yelling for me to get the hell out of the water. They grabbed the nearest object, which was an oar from their dugout canoe, and more or less pulled me out of there while I was trying my hardest to also pull myself up...........So.....yes I do have a scar on my back, but that makes me fell human...

10/01/04: I am having a blast. Sorry, that it has taking me so long to write you an e-mail, but considering our track record over the last 8 years, it really is no surprise. I have been studying spanish for the past month in Cuenca, Ecuador. It is Ecuador's third largest city. Today is my last day here and tonight my host family is throwing a fiesta for my farewell. I will be drinking alot of Zhumir, ecuadorian hard liquor. I have done some great weekend exscursions whilst here. One weekend I took this crazy ass train ride through the Ande Mts. The tradition is to ride on the top of the train, and that is what I did. There were some insanely steep drop-offs and super deep ravines. Also, I went to this awesome small mountain village in the Andes called Vilcabamba and did this horse back riding trip in the Podocarpus National Park. Which, is a cloud rainforest in the southern part of the country close to the Peruvian border. Well, I always thought that horse back riding was farely lame, but the guide was more interested in this gringa chica, and my horse liked to haul ass..........seriously, I was flying through these narrow-as- hell trails that droped off about 5 to 6 hundred feet on the sides. It was quite scary, and the horse seemed to know the trails, cause I certainly did'nt, and my guide did'nt give a shit. It was a fuck'n blast...............truely a crazy ass, old western style, fearless cowboy experience. Anyways, I leave tomorrow morning to travel on the Ecuadorian coast for a week. Specifically, to Mantañita which has ecuador's best surfing spot. It will be nice to surf again in the Mighty Pacific. After that I am going into the Amazon rainforest for a week as well. I am staying at this jungle lodge that is deep within the intact rainforest. I have to fly there and then take a three hour boat ride, because there are no roads leading to it. Apparently really remote. So, how are things with the Geilhufe? Are you still in the States? I hope all is well and I am always glad to keep in touch with a fellow comrade like yourself. I fly out of Quito, Ecuador to Santiago, Chile on the 11 of October and then I start classes for the T.E.F.L. course on the 13. I think that I will be down here in South America , seriously for 3 to 4 years...